Art in concentration camps: form of survival or death sentence?

One might find it hard to believe that a very human occurrence could be found in concentration camps during the second World War. Art was seen as a way of survival and acted as a sort of distraction from the brutal reality of daily life in the camps. This was a type of rebellion against the Nazi forces’ attempts to erase all details of prisoners’ personal lives. Some artists chose to paint even in the face of danger, as it was often life treathening should one be caught. Below, we find some of the artworks that rest in the memory of Buchenwald.

Paul Goyard, Roll Call; “Crematorium in the Background”, 1944/45, Pencil on wastepaper, 14,6 / 13 x 26,3 cm; source: Buchenwald Memorial CentreMany artworks were small and fragile, and so were ruined as a consequence of the unstable circumstances right after liberation. Pieces that did survive the war were also mostly unsigned, as illustrating life in the camp was strictly forbidden.

Konieczny, Water colour: “Comrade Jędrzejewski drawn before his death”, dimensions unknown, 1945 before liberation; source: Buchenwald Memorial CentreMany of those imprisoned in the camps used to paint or draw to ease their restless and traumatised minds. These artworks best evoke everyday life in the camp and allows a glimpse into the prisoners’ most intimate feelings.

Ossi Wersing,“Bouquet of flowers”, 1944, unknown material and dimensions, source: Buchenwald Memorial CentreEven though materials and space were limited, the paintings are alive and colourful. It could be that perhaps they were trying to escape the sad reality of their surroundings…

Buchenwald today photo by Ana-Maria Naszynska 14/2/12; source Flickr… such as the fence that excluded them from nature and a normal life beyond.

Jozef Szajna, 1970s, instalation; source: Buchenwald Memorial Centre
But the scars of war still exist in the soul of the artist who communicates with the public in a more abstract or symbolic way, often feeling anger at how easy is it to forget the horrors of war or, even worse, creating superficial representations of it in postwar times.

Buchenwald Memorial CentreBut the final goal remains to remind those alive today that all of this happened very recently in the history of humanity…

Stolzenberg, instalation after liberation; source: Buchenwald Memorial Centre,… and that the sorrow of those days rests like an echo in the place where they were before…